Green Meets Gold
by aquajogger
Summary: Sun meets Moon, Thief meets Knight. Green meets Gold. A behindthescenes look at Book 5. They showed you the day. Now see the night. So sorry about the late updateagain. I got locked out of fanfiction...
1. Push meets Shove

Dedicated to: Luki Dimension, for his story, "Ringley's Wish". Okay, so that wasn't a romance, or anything... Actually, it was a humor fic... But it does take place during the same time as this fic. P

lus, the only characters were Thats, Kitchel, Ringleys, Ekidonna... And that OC... Wassisface... Oh. And Kharl and Garfankcy. :sweatdrop:

Well, it was MAINLY about Thats and Kitchel.

Plus, I needed some more dedications, so... Meh. You were in the right place at the right time.

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Knights. I got this title from playing with Tochiki's Japenese book, so... Um... Yeah. Long story.

Warning: Slight swearing(as always).

A/N: I know I really shouldn't be saying this, but... I don't like this chapter. I wrote it in April, and... I can't figure out how to fix it. Sorry. I like this story, however, so please read this first chapter anyway! :sweatdrops, again:

Chapter One:

A door slammed in the quiet of the early night, arguing voices ripping and tearing the calm delicatly interwoven with the cool night air.

"Look, it's not my fault! He's only got one room!" This voice belonged to the Dragon Knight of Earth, a young man by the name of Thats. He was trying to make his point clear with a female of about the same age, a girl of about seventeen who was wearing a pair of black shorts and a dark and patterened loose tanktop.

"Why can't we stay somewhere else, then?!" His aforementioned compainion snapped, stomping into the small room, her eyes looking over it's contents disapprovingly.

He glared at Kitchel's back, "What, you too good to stay here?"

She growled at him, spinning around, light brown hair and two dangling stone earrings whipping as she turned.

"Do you realize," She said very slowly and dangerously, "That there is only one bed?"

He looked over her shoulder, confirming that there was, indeed, a significant lack of furniture adorning the cramped quarters.

"Shit," Thats swore, stepping lightly around her and examining the object in question.

It was, indeed, a bed. It was not small, but definatly not large, with cream colored cotton sheets and two slightly limp pillows. It rested on a faded wooden frame, about half a foot off the ground, and with just enough room for two people to share it.

She spoke.

"You're sleeping on the floor."

This was not a question, but a statement: a command.

Thats turned to face her.

"What?! No way. I'm not sleeping on that."

He gestured at the dust covered rough wooden floorboards. The whole of the floor of the room appeared to need a good cleaning; one could clearly see that it had not been swept in a long period of time, and bits of dirt and leaves decorated it's groaning boards.

"What," Kitchel smirked, "You too good to stay here?"

He tensed, sending her a deadly glare.

"What I meant was," He ground out, "We could simply SHARE the bed."

When she opened her mouth to protest, he continued, running out of patiece and ignoring what she had to say.

"It's obviously meant for two people, so it's big enough to fit both of us. We can draw a line down the middle; we won't even touch. And believe me, the only good part about this is the soft mattress. You won't bother me, and you can be damned sure that I won't bother you," He said firmly, sitting down on the bed.

She glared at him.

It was far too late to want to argue, and although they were both tired, she crossed her arms, refusing to budge from her point.

"No way in Dusis. I'm sleeping on the bed. You," She pointed at the other, "Get the privillage of sleeping on the floor."

"What privillage?" He muttered, wracking his mind for a sutable excuse to stay on the bed.

"The privillage of sleeping in the same room as me. Why don't we just look for an inn?" She complained.

"If you want to find a decent place at this time of night, be my guest," Thats said, spreading his hands out and speaking with exaggerated courtesy.

"It was just a thought!" Kitchel stalked past him and over to the window. She looked out it briefly, then pulled it's white slatted shutters closed and turned back to him.

This time when she spoke it wasn't harsh, but a simple request.

"Turn around."

He sent her a confused and somewhat annoyed look.

"What? I'll do exactly what I please."

"Turn around," She glared at him, all charity gone from her voice now.

"I want to change, and I'm sure not doing that with you looking at me!"

He stared her down for a second, before grudgingly getting up and turning around, sitting down indian style on the floor, arms crossed.

She swung the small bag she had been carrying on her back to the floor, then opened it and dug through it for a moment, pulling out her spare change of clothes.

"Can I get up yet?" Thats asked, complaining.

She stuck out her tounge at the back of his head, "No! Wait a second!"

He sighed and she quickly slipped out of her shirt and shorts into a pair of soft and featherlight long gray pants and a blue shirt, light almost to the point of white, and thin almost to the point of translucence.

She carefully closed her bag and placed it on a short wooden table near the window; the only article of furniture in the room besides the bed.

"There."

He quickly glanced over his shoulder at her, apparently assuring himself that she was, indeed, fully dressed, then turned around completely.

"Which side do you want?" Thats asked, gesturing towards the bed with an offhand wave.

In response to his question, she slipped under the covers of the side of the bed closest to her and rolled over onto her side, taking up the middle of the bed.

"Both. You can sleep on the ground. G'night."

Muttering an unintelligable stream of curses and complaints, he stretched out on the floor, lying on his back, staring at the cealing.

As her breathing slowed, his eyes remained open, mind still active.

Uncomfortable, he rolled over onto his side, facing the bed and the girl now fast asleep in it.

The light of the moon slid into the room throught the mostly closed window, casting a pale shine over all it touched.

"Stupid," He cursed under his breath, slowly rising to his feet and walking around the room with the quiet experiance gained from years of sneaking through the dark and stealing away into the shadows. Reaching the bed, he snatched up one of the two pillows and stalked back to his original position on the floor.

Dumping it on the ground and soundlessly lying down next to it, he closed his eyes, attempting to go to sleep.

The hard floor dug into his back.

Thats growled softly and rolled over again, then punched the pillow in an attempt to get it to confirm to a comfortable shape. When this didn't work, he folded it in half, mentally complaining at the pathetic fact that he was forced to do so in order to have some amount of padding beneath his head.

He lay on his side, facing the door, wondering what he had done to deserve this. He was with Kitchel, Kitchel!, in the tiny room above a bar in Draqueen, one they both knew well. There was a small hallway outside the door he was looking at, leading down to one other room, Master's private bedroom, and a set of stairs which led down to the first floor of the building.

He was well aquanted with the layout of the building he was in; he had spent many nights camping out either up here in the spare room, or down below on a hard wooden bench behind a dirty table at the bar.

That was back when he lived on the streets, however.

A rustle from the bed jerked his thoughts back to his current situation, and he groaned at the thought of working with Kitchel for who knew how long. Treasure hunting was fun, sure, but not with her!

As the minutes ticked by, he rolled over on to his back, lay on his stomach, and eventually turned over to rest on his other side.

From this angle he could see his traveling companion. She had tossed in her sleep as well, instead of facing the shuttered window, she was facing towards him.

Kitchel was sound asleep, green eyes closed and small mouth turned downwards into a delicate frown.

Thats stuck his tounge out at her.

He rolled back over onto his back, but couldn't get comfortable in that position, and soon turned back onto his right side, facing the bed. He closed his eyes, waiting for the soft darkness of sleep to overwhelm him. A constant train of thoughts, however, kept him firmly awake and aware of his surroundings.

Mentally groaning, the Knight of Earth opened his eyes once more, staring straight ahead.

From his view point on the floor, he could see the girl lying a few feet away from him quite clearly, and, as if for lack of anything better to do, he studied her unconcious form. She was still asleep, one leg bent slightly, the other not at all. Her left hand had clenched into a fist in front of her face, and the other was hidden under the soft cottony blanket draped over her slim figure.

And as if on cue, she snapped her eyes open.

"What're you doin'?" She asked in a voice only slightly groggy from sleep and quickly hardening into annoyance.

"Go to bed!"

Thats sent a scalding look into two angry green orbs of fire, lightning sparks of mahagony flashing inside their fragile glass covers, threatening to break loose. Deadly spears of black were cocked and ready to fly.

She growled at him, eyes narrowing further, then flipped over onto her other side, facing away from him, deciding it was too late and she was too tired to waste time in a full-fledged argument.

He sent her a last disgusted look before rolling over as well, closing his eyes, and sliding into a deep sleep at last.

The room became silent, and in the morning when the two of them woke, the past night was nothing more than a faint and nebulous memory, pushed far into the back of their minds.

:n:

Cheer, everyone. I've finally gotten my act together. Here's numero uno of my Thatchel attack! non

It's december, goodwill towards mankind, please help a poor little highschooler by REVIEWING!


	2. Hide meets Seek

Dedication: I dedicate this to Shadow Cat17, for their fic "An Elf and a Demon: Part Three". :sweatdrops: Okay. So it was mainly about Rath and Rune... But part three had a large amount of Thats Kitchel...: shifty eyes: And... As stated before, I needed more dedications... :shifty eyes again:

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Dragon Knights. Sheesh. Some people...

Warnings: They swear, um, three times. And cuss once. :sweatdrop: I don't think that should be warned about, but... Hey...

Chapter Two:

The room was dark, still with the weight of night. Dim light crept in through the open window, chasing shadows across the wooden floor, sending them scattering under the thin mattress and sturdy frame of the bed, currently occupied by a young male.

Thats was seated upright on the comfortable surface, his tanned face set firmly in an irritated scowl.

Pressing the first two fingers of his right hand to his temple in frustration, he made a mental note to give Kitchel a curfew next time.

Thats flopped over backwards onto the soft matress, staring at the cealing and placed both his interlocked hands behind his head.

"I wouldn't even mind," He complained to no one in particular, "If she had taken the damn key to the bar!"

His eyes flicked over to the small brass object, currently lying on a nearby table, shining in the light reflected off of the slowly waning moon outside.

"But no," He continued, "She didn't. And now Master's gone to bed and is making me make sure she gets in."

He glared at the open window, through which could be seen no sign of the female thief.

"Why she couldn't just head off to that damn hotel she keeps talking about is beyond me."

He closed his eyes and continued to complain about the sheer injustice of it all, not paying much attention to most of his surroundings, but listening intently for the sound of soft booted feet on cobblestone roads.

It was with a jerk that the knight awoke to the sound of the door to their small room opening with a low shudder.

"Kitchel?" He sat up, eyes quickly adjusting to the dim light and latching on to the outline of a slim female figure standing in the doorframe at the front of the room.

"What in bloody hell took you so long?"

She walked over to the bed, shedding her long white jacket and black backpack as she went.

"Dead end. Some idiot gave me the false information," She growled, "I'm gonna make sure his name gets mentioned in my report. Stupid liar," She paused for a moment, collecting herself, then continued, "But that was around eight. I spent the last few hours following up on another lead. One that I think is actually true."

"Really?" Thats' eyes lit up, "So you're gonna find that last piece soon?"

Kitchel nodded, sending fine brown hair bouncing, "Very soon."

"Great," He grinned, climbing off the bed and standing up, stretching as he did so.

As his feet touched the ground Kitchel sat on the soft matress.

"I'm hoping to find it tomorrow. I only stopped tonight because it was getting late and I still needed to get back in here."

Thats sat on the wooden floorboards, looking up at the female sitting on the bed.

"That's right. How'd you get back in? You don't have a key."

He lay down on his back, head turned to the side to look at her as she gave her response.

Kitchel grinned at him, raising her right hand in the air and waving her fingers. A small twig of metal was seen protruding between her hand and the dark material of her silken glove, it's silver surface shining in the dim light in the room.

"I am ranked among the best thieves in Draqueen."

Two and two fell into place, neatly making four.

"You picked the lock of Master's bar?" He asked.

Kitchel nodded, pleased with herself.

"The bedroom door, too."

She made a circle in the air with her index finger, signalling for him to turn around. As he did so, spinning in a half circle on the ground until he was facing away from her, she spoke again.

"So I'm planning on searching for that last piece again tomorrow. With a little luck I should have the map completed in time for lunch."

Kitchel pulled her shirt over her head, her shorts down her legs, and slipped into her spare change of clothes as she spoke.

"Okay," she said, sliding under the light covers, "Good night."

"Yeah," He lay down on the ground, cradling his head in his arms, "Same to you."

Shadows danced across the tiny room, sending specks of dust waltzing in their beams. The night was quickly clouding over, a thick gray blanket smothering the once bright stars. It brushed over the moon, tinting the land below in a deep lavender darkness.

Two green eyes flickered open.

Thats sat akwardly up, shaking an annoying crink out of his neck, then collapsed back down, staring at the low ceiling.

Feeling sleep tug at the corners of his vision once more, he succumbed, taking a last spontanious glance at the figure sleeping nearby.

"Ya could've told me you were gonna be out so late, y'know," he slurred to her unconcious and unaware form.

"Would've saved me a lot of," he yawned, eyes sliding shut, "...Trouble."

The overcast sky clearned by the time the first ray of sun shone over the city, erasing with it all ruffled emotions.

Neither had any memory of their words previously spoken, and even less of the ones substituted out.

:n:

Kat Ho: :sweatdrop: That was a very kind review... Anyway. :pats head: Puppy! Puppy want a ball? Fetch!!

DragonessFei: :grins: Thatchel. Good, no? You feel like writing your own?

Cesia Illuser: That soon enough? I'll be updated every other day, btw...

Ojosnegro: Eeep... I keep wanting to add an "s" to the end of your name... Spanish classes getting to me... Well, now you'll have to wait another two days or so...

Hououza: Yup... XD Thanks, and merry Christmas to you, too!

ShadowDown: I did. And I will again.

Capella: Really? Weird... Well... I like Thatchel better, so... Book five? I LOVE it. It's my comfort book. When I get freaked out or anxious, I sleep next to it. :nervious grin: XD I love your friend's idea. That's brillient. I always love reading your reviews, btw. They're so nice and personalized!

Okay... I'm updating quickly... Please review?


	3. Friend meets Stranger

Dedication: I dedicate this to Laenavesse, aka Angel Cesia. The writer of the BEST EFF-ING script stories EVER. True, there was no sole Thatchel, but there was tension.

Plus, she made those Zoma backgrounds. non

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Knights. I've been looking for book sixteen at least once a day, every day, for the past two weeks... But sadly, I do not own that, either. Curse you, fate.

Warnings: Um... Wow. Actually... This is G-rated. Absolutely nothing bad happens, is said, or is mentioned. Amazing.

Note: This chapter takes place after Thats and Kitchel robbed Ekidonna, completed the map, and Thats offered Ringleys a place with them. Go back and look, that all really does take place in one day!!

Chapter Three:

"He's staying with us?"

Thats glanced down at the water light, currently fluttering around the doorknob as if uncertian he actually wanted to come inside.

"Yeah," he shrugged, "Ringleys doesn't have anywhere to go, so I told him he could come along. He can fly. He could be of some help."

Kitchel smiled at the faerie, "Sure. Hey, come on in. We gotta find you a place to sleep."

She beckoned to him, walking over to the bedstand and scrutinizing it.

"Here, this could work."

Kitchel yanked the drawer open, lining it's hard sides and bottom with the extra pillow from the hotel bed.

"That good?"

Ringleys lit upon it, sitting down in its center.

"Yeah!" he grinned, "This is great! Thank you so much for letting me come with you guys!"

The female thief laughed, waving off the complement, and jumped back on to her own bed.

"No problem, Ringleys. You know, just traveling with Thats gets boring. This is a nice change!"

Thats half grinned, rolling his eyes jokingly.

"Hey. Not nice."

Casually closing the door behind him, he took a seat on the floor.

"Did you manage to get us a boat, Kitchel?"

She shook her head.

"No. Still looking. I'll keep searching tomorrow; find one then."

The female thief yawned, stretching her long arms over her head, and flopped down on 'her' bed.

"I'm exaushted. Turning in for the night. You going to be okay sleeping there, Ringleys?" she asked.

Ringleys nodded, and she reached over his head, flipping off the light.

"It's late. G'night."

"Night," Thats responded, his answer mimiced by the Faerie.

A deep silence settled over the room, falling unnaturally early, and unnaturally peacefully. The only disturbance it recieved was the noiseless traveling of clouds overhead, rushing past a moon almost half full.

Slowly, softly, three sets of steady breathing filled the air.

Two of them were faked.

"Kitchel?" the young man, sprawlled on his back, breathing in the faint smell of varnish and cold air asked.

"Yes?"

Kitchel remained still, body still half curled, as if in a deep sleep. Her voice, however, betrayed this false slumber. There was no hint of weariness along it's smooth edges.

The beginnings of words lit upon his mouth, but were silenced.

A new phrase was spoken, instead. Neutral words, almost whispered in the night.

"Where do you think you'll find a boat?"

The shrug she would have given was audiable in her reply, "Not sure yet. I'll ask around. Maybe that store that was raided by Ekidonna's got something for us. Who knows."

Both parties fell silent, and the minutes sluggishly passed before Kitchel spoke again.

"Hey," she sat up, changing positions for the first time since she had dimmed the lights, maybe an hour ago.

"You okay on the floor?" the thief asked in an almost teasing voice.

Thats turned his head from staring up at the cealing, adjusting the hands that cradled it in a make-shift pillow.

"Yeah," he gave a wry smile, "What does it matter to you?"

Her whole demeaner shifted abruptly.

Kitchel glared.

"Oh, shut up," she lay back down, facing away from him.

Then, softer, "Go to sleep."

No one else spoke that night, not out loud, at any rate. But both servants

of the Dragon Lord let it be noted that the irritated threat was changed.

It was weaker, shakier, than the ones previously issued.

Both, however, soon let go of this fact, letting it be pushed to the back of their minds as welcomed sleep overtook them.

When the sun rose in the morning, any possible thoughts of that sort were pushed away by the work set before them.

But that's not to say they were completely forgotten.

:n:

Shadow Down: Apparently that habit is more common than I thought. ;) Really? Thanks. I want to get better, though. Goal: To be like Akisawana, Bonny Fyfa, Animegoil, mindmelda, Sarehpatar, etc.

Capella: For lack of a better response, here is what happened when I recieved your review.

Me- :reading review on break: .....WHAT?! She WHAT?!?!

Asa- o.oa

Me- I... I will KILL her, tear her into itty-bitty pieces, and EAT her... Kill, kill... Need to kill someone...

Asa- ...Why don't you wait until Matt gets back...

Me- :sweatdrop: ...Mind... I don't know her e-mail, her address, or her state, so...

Asa- :sweatdrop:

lol. Asa was waiting with me for my English group to get back, and I got bored and checked my e-mail... I've yet to find book 17. 'Nuff said.

Yeah. All at night.

Ojosnegro: I see. n.n

Hououza: Yeah. Um. Book five doesn't have much romance. ...Much. :evil grin: But I plan to exploit the little that it DOES have... :sadistic laughter:

:n:

CRAPS! I need to write the next chapter of this for monday! :runs around in circles: If monday comes, and there's something else up, this is why. I'm just a lazy person and forgot about actually WRITING the chapters. :feels stupid:

Anyway, review?


	4. East meets West

Note: This may seem like a time jump, but it's not. The day after Thats and Kitchel went to Luwa, they got their boat and set sail. If you want, you can check it. :grins: I know the book by heart. In other words... The I.B.S.(Infamous Boat Scene... You know... The one with the storm, and the breaking and the falling and the jumping and the catching... :eyes starting to glaze over:) takes place after this chapter by a couple days.

This scene is one I have long wanted to write. I'm so glad I remembered it. Originally, this was going to be combined with the end chapter, but then I thought of a better way. Go me.

This chapter should be longer, sweeter. More like SSY. Hope that's not a problem. I didn't mean to do it like that; it just came out that way.

Dedication: This is dedicated to Elfin Kagome for that really funny fic about the hospital! n-n Too bad she cut out the dancing scene, though...

Disclaimer: Me no ownie. Me sowwie.

Warnings: Um. Not too sure, actually...

Chapter Four:

The night was warm.

Apparently, along with heading east, the treasure hunters were also traveling south, or at least into a more tropical climate zone.

The heat wasn't unbearable yet; on the contrary, it was rather pleasant. The sun had set a few minutes ago, but the sky was still lined with crimson streaks, as though an artist had overturned their tray of watercolors, scattering the dyes across the paper. This red glow added to the mirage of heat, helped by the near-cloudless sky, and dully rocking waves.

There was not a breath of wind in the air.

The crisp breeze Thats and Kitchel had exploited earlier that day had died away as quickly as the setting sun, now leaving them to drift aimlessly in the vast ocean desert.

The world was gorgeous.

Not one of the three voices on board the boat broke the spell.

Then, one of them shattered the silence, uttering a single word to roughly describe the feelings of the others.

"Wow."

Thats nodded vaguely, eyes still lingering over the western horizon.

"Yeah."

He took in the sound of fathoms deep water, lapping roughly on the tightly bound beams of their craft. The now lavender sky continued dimming, exposing the distant light of the first evening star.

The peridot stone around his neck reflected the last shimmering rays of golden sunlight.

"Wow," he echoed.

There was no land crowding them in any direction, as far as any one of them could see. Their only barrier now was a vast expanse of salt water and an almost too-clear sky.

All three travelers were sitting, facing the far western displays, their backs against the low wall of the boat. The exception to this was Ringleys. Although he was indeed looking in the same direction as the other two, instead of leaning against the wall, he was sitting on it.

The red glow began to fade into a deeper violet, bringing a touch of cool to the air. The last trails of the day disappeared beneath the sea.

Ringleys yawned.

Thats and Kitchel both looked at the Faerie sitting between them, and both had the same mental image of his small form nodding off and toppling backwards into the ocean.

"You tired?" the human girl asked with a grin.

"Come on. I don't want to have to fish you out if you fall in."

She picked up the protesting water light by the scruff of his jacket, setting him down on the floor of the boat.

"It's dark. 'Night, Ringleys."

Aquamarine irises blinked upwards at the deepening heavens once more before sliding closed.

"Good night."

As the smallest member of the trio drifted off to sleep, the other two lapsed back into silence.

The waves rocked the otherwise still boat, and both thieves felt themselves relaxing, letting go of any tension left over from the previous day. Neither looked at the other. Neither took their eyes off the appearing stars and vanishing streaks of vibrant red.

Then the odd larger wave struck the drifting craft. It was not strong enough to do the smallest of damage, but only to slightly jolt it's passengers.

Nevertheless, it struck a note with fate.

Kitchel's arm, propping her up on the wooden side of the ship, slipped, and she slid to the side. Instead of falling onto the hard wooden boards beneath her, however, she was stopped by the warm body of her companion. Her bare skin pressed against his, and they both froze.

To the outside observer, it seemed like nothing out of the ordinary.

A young man and woman, sitting side by side. Both lightly dressed, he in a loose pair of pants and a tank, and she in a cutoff white shirt and a pair of shorts. Their clothing was justified: the day had been hot. She had slid to the side, falling against his naked arm.

Nothing unusual.

Except for the total lack of movement.

Both were still perfectly still, barely daring to breathe. Then, as the ocean lapped around them, Kitchel exhaled. She slowly forced herself to relax, to slide back into the state of mind she had previously been enjoying.

Another wave rocked the boat, and she slid further against him.

A shiver ran down her back.

Thats felt it, and carefully glanced down at her.

"Hey. Um...?"

The female thief didn't blush or stammer as many another girl might have done, being caught in that situation, but evenly met his gaze.

"What?" Quickly, before he could answer, she spoke again. "Look. The stars are coming out."

"Oh, yeah," he said, turning his face away from her, up to the darkened sky, now speckled with the beginnings of a glorious heavenly display.

Kitchel shifted her weight further into him. This time, it was without the added push of the sea.

His muscles tensed slightly, and his heartbeat began to quicken before being forced back down to it's regular tempo. Moderno in Mezzo-Forte.

She glanced at him, but the knight was still facing away, eyes picking out familiar faces among the starry sky. The young woman felt her own vision being tugged upwards as well, and she gave in, drifting among two intertwined velvetine oceans.

They remained like that for an unknown period of time. Neither knew just how long it had been that they were lost in silver-rimmed constellations and thoughts. When they awoke in the morning, however, they were both lying on the bottom of the boat, facing away from each other, and with nothing to suggest that the previous night had been any different from ones earlier on.

Neither the thief nor the knight mentioned that red-tinged dusk or the star gazing that followed it. If, indeed, it was remembered at all, there was no evidence.

Except for a tiny starlit flicker held in suspended animation, hidden away behind their teasing acts.

:n:

:shrugs: Water lights just seem to me like daytime people... I guess that's why Ringleys passed out so early on... Plus, he really had no part to play in what I wanted to happen... :shifty eyes:

:n:

Hououza: :shakes head, grinning: Nah, s'ok. For I... HAVE FOUND BOOK SEVENTEEN!! :huggles book: I had to convince my mom to buy it for me, because I had just been to a game store and thought, "Oh, what the hell. Book 17 won't be in until the end of the month. I can get another ten bucks by then." and had blown $20 on a Miroku figure and pokémon cards. But I have it!!

ShadowDown: Zoma kicks ass. Not literally. No one right now. I WAS going to kill Capella, though.

Ojosnegro: Yes. Boat. Boat gooood.

Capella: Yes... "Relatively"... Nah. You're safe. I found book seventeen(See response to Hououza... Too lazy to type it all out again...), and no longer wish for blood! I pity your friend. I was like that. Mind... I also lent out book fifteen... And Bonkers bent it down Nadil's face and ripped a bunch of pages... And I lent out book twelve... And it got lost... And I lent out book two... And Scott's actually been good, so I let him keep it over Christmas break so he can reread it and figure everything out. n-n Good boy, Scott. BOAT!!

Yokai no Miko: Oh, sorry about that. I hate it when people spell my name wrong. The office has yet to get it correct... Aww... 15 was good. Buy it with your Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa/Winter Solstice money!! ...I didn't review that? Strange...

Oy, review, please!!


	5. Alone

Ack. Fanfiction hates me. I swear. Sorry, again, about the late update.

Dedication: Dedicated to The Shadowess. Partially for possibly including Thatchel, and partly for adding a bonus scene to "Rising Thunder, Raining Lies" involving Kitchel oggling firemen in speedos... XD

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Knights. Seriously.

Warnings: Not much.

Note: This is the third version of the chapter, drastcally different from either of the two before it. I wrote it on the day I was to upload it, so sorry if it's not quite up to par.

:n:

There was no brilliant display of colors that night.

Kitchel and Ringleys were gone.

They had, much earlier that day, entered the cave of the Three Treasures, leaving the third member of their party by himself on the island.

Thats had wasted no time in realizing that the boat they had taken over had been smashed to bits by the violent storm on the previous night, and had instead ridden Earth back to Dusis, dismounting a few miles out of sight of Luwa.

His mind was still swimming with thoughts of his fellow tresure hunters and of the treasure himself.

But now it was late. The moon and stars had already come out, and he, the Dragon Knight of Earth, was safe in a cheap room in the very inn Kitchel, Ringleys, and himself had stayed in before setting off for Arinas.

It might have been even the same room. He didn't notice.

His mind was elsewhere.

There was a small window over his bed, but it faced towards the east, away from the spent sunset. That didn't matter much. What little sunset there had been had not been worth much. It had been nowhere near as good as the ones he had watched from the ocean.

He hadn't been in the mood to watch it, anyway.

It would be foolish to assume that all his mental energy was focused on the girl pursuing the treasures a world away.

She was currently commanding a fair portion of his thoughts, however.

Thats was seated on the soft bed, relishing the thought of actually being able to sleep on one for the first time in this long journey. The sky outside had long darkened, and the small room was lit only by the flickering yellow light of the oil lamp next to the mattress.

He lay down on his back, allowing his body to feel the comfort of a real bed beneath him, and closed his eyes. Thats reached up and blindly turned off the light, almost burning his hand in the hot flame.

"Maybe I'll go see Delte tomorrow," he mused out loud to himself, the consuming question of the faeries' dissapearance tugging on his mind and consience.

There was a long silence in which it appeared the young man had drifted off to sleep inside the whitewashed walls of the room.

The he rolled over onto his side, making it so he took up only half of the spacious bed. His green eyes snapped open, staring at the empty mattress and the wall beyond it.

Outside the room, the sky was dark and overcast. Not a star peaked

through the thick blanket of unspilled rainclouds.

Thats gave himself a mental shake, and spoke outloud, chiding himself.

"Relax. You can figure out what to do in the morning."

The inner room mirrored this gloom. White walls fading to gray in the dark housed a solitary figure, seemingly unconcious to the world.

Then a memory flickered to life in the sheer cold black.

A night of insults, a night of waiting, a night of chatter, a night of stars.

The Earth Dragon Knight sighed, and spoke again.

The words were muttered softly, almost in an undertone, barely audiable to his ear. That didn't matter, however, for they were merely a repeating of a voice and phrase in his head. They had been brought to life by a few weeks of journeying across two continents and one vast blue ocean, during which ideas, experiances, and opinions had been tested, broken, and reforged.

The phrase rang alive in his mind, reminescent of a hard wooden floor, a warm summer's night, a star-filled sky.

And although they were the last thing he remembered before loosing conciousness, in the morning they were pushed furthest from his mind by the next day's duties, responsibilities, and a burning latent flicker.

"Go to sleep."

:n:

Note: This might be the last chapter. This might not be. At any rate, this is the furthest in the time line I will go, as this is already heading out of Book 5 for Book 6. However... This is far from the ending chapter I originally had planned out. If, and only if, I feel it's needed, or if i realize I am short on something, I -may- consider pulling my original end chapter out of retirement. Any thoughts on this?


End file.
